A Birthday Surprise
by iviscrit
Summary: Kuvira is pleasantly surprised to learn that her birthday has not been forgotten. For Day 4 of Baavira Week.


Kuvira's birthday always served as an uncomfortable reminder of her place in the Beifong family. When she was brought to Zaofu five years ago, she had painstakingly memorized her home address, the name of the village in Haven, her parents' names, and her birthday. When the kindly lady with the pretty metal circlet on her brow had asked her for her name, she managed to answer, but as she was led through long hallways with high ceilings, everything richly furnished and spotless, her words died in her throat. The dirt on the soles of her feet felt more unwelcome than ever, and her tears mixed with the bathwater when Su led her to a guest room and told her to get ready for bed. Everything in the Beifong house was so markedly different from the home she had lived in for the first eight years of her life, especially the parents.

Su was everything a mother ought to be, Kuvira decided, and she found herself watching wistfully whenever Opal or the little twins or Baatar thoughtlessly called her "Mom." That word was off-limits to her now, but she almost felt like a daughter around birthdays. It wasn't until she'd been in Zaofu for a year that she realized Su didn't know her actual birthday; they celebrated the anniversary of her arrival to the city rather than the day she was born. At times, it felt like they had adopted her. When she confided in Baatar that she hadn't arrived on her birthday and told him the actual date, he had apologized profusely, eyes wide behind his glasses. Kuvira begged him not to tell Su, not wanting to sound ungrateful, and he had solemnly promised that it would be their secret. He kept it too, and Kuvira knew she had made a loyal friend in the family.

Baatar always remembered her birthday after that, and over time it gradually came out to Su that Kuvira's birthday was not the date of her arrival in Zaofu when Kuvira turned twelve. Su had apologized, but forgot about it in her usual thoughtless way by the time Kuvira's thirteenth birthday had come around. Newly a teenager, Kuvira found herself in the garden, playing with loose clods of dirt in her disappointment. Bending metal still took far too much focus, and when she was upset it was hard to concentrate her energy on feeling for the tiny earth particles within the purified steel.

"Hi, Kuvira." She recognized the voice before she turned around, and she smiled.

"What're you doing here?" she asked, dusting off her hands and standing. "Shouldn't you be learning advanced math or something?"

"Not yet," Baatar said, shrugging. "I get a little bit of a break before I have to move on to the next subject. Dad says physics will be a good 'palate cleanser.' He says everything will make more sense and that math can wait."

Kuvira laughed. "Physics as a palate cleanser? Gross."

"What's wrong?" Baatar asked, sitting down on her vacated bench. "You're earthbending."

"So?"

"So, you only earthbend when you're upset," he said, patting the seat next to him. "What's wrong?"

Kuvira sighed. "I guess I just wish Su remembered my birthday now that she knows. That, and growing up doesn't seem as fun as Su promised… and then for girls," she added conspiratorially, "we have the monthly visitor which I honestly could live without."

Baatar reddened, to her surprise, and reached into his bag. "Well actually…if you wanted to celebrate today… I brought you something.."

Kuvira looked at him excitedly, unable to stop the smile from breaking over her face. "I knew it! I knew you didn't forget!"

"Why would I forget?" Baatar said, his voice too loud in his discomfort. "I always remember your birthday—"

She hugged him, surprising them both with her impulsiveness, and Kuvira pulled away quickly, feeling embarrassed. "Thanks, Baatar. So, what did you bring?"

He presented her with a box wrapped in plain white paper and tied with a green ribbon. It was no larger than a pencil case, but the moment she held it in her hand, Kuvira knew it was made of metal. "I hope you like it," he said anxiously. "Dad helped a bit, but the design was mine and I made most of it. Since you're so picky about your dance shoes—"

Kuvira carefully unwrapped the box, letting out a breathy little exclamation of delight as the paper fell away. Baatar had made a little metal case, large enough to hold her dance shoes and bandages, with a grate that allowed sunlight in when the latch was opened. The box was carved with floral geometric patterns, and her name was embossed on the front side in a neat script. The lock was operable through bending, but it took her a few tries to get a feel for the tiny tumblers. "This is amazing," she said once he finally coached her on how to bend it open. "How did you /do/ it?"

"I had the idea when you said that the girls took your shoes as a joke," he said self-consciously. "It's not that big a deal, I just figured that if I made the locks complicated, you'd be able to bend it and the others wouldn't. Now you won't need to worry about a key, either."

"It is /too/ a big deal. Thank you, Baatar!" She experimented with the grate, bending it open and shut, delicately running her fingers over the engravings, and turning the box over in her hands to take in every angle. "This is crazy, how did you even think of it?" She paused. "Wait, I told you about the shoes months ago."

Baatar kicked his legs, scuffing the toes of his shoes. "Uh.. yeah. I um… I don't know, it stuck with me. Do you like it?" he added, looking at her again, his glasses pushed up on his nose.

"I don't like it, I love it!" she said. "Thank you so much! You need to teach me sometime. How do you metalwork like this when you can't bend? You mom built half the city and even she can't do this stuff. And Su is the best metalbender in the /world./"

Baatar shrugged. "It's not that big a deal, Kuvira."

She scoffed at his modesty. "It's a huge deal. You're going to be the greatest engineer in the world one day. Can you start learning those subjects now? That way, you could start making the real stuff even sooner, instead of practicing on birthday presents."

He looked at her with a rekindled interest. "I never thought of it like that… maybe I'll ask Dad about it."

"Thanks for the surprise," she said, looping her arm around his shoulders. "I couldn't have asked for a better present."

"Actually," Baatar said, his cheeks reddening again, "if you want, we can have a proper celebration.."

"Oh?"

"I asked the chef to make you a little cake," he said, blushing furiously. "It's buttercream—"

"You're the best," she said, awkwardness forgotten as she set the box down and hugged him again. "Okay, we can celebrate. Should I call the twins and Opal? Huan hates buttercream.."

"I thought maybe just the two of us?"

Kuvira picked up the box as she let go of him, marveling once again at the tidy craftsmanship. "That sounds even better," she said with a naive honesty, so fixated on her new present that she didn't see his eyes light up and his face give way to a delighted smile as he watched her bend the locks open and closed on his first real invention.

A/N: For day 4. ❤ ❤ ❤ my babies!


End file.
